something's coming. if afternoon, everybody. i'm jim handly. >> and i'm erica gonzales. what do you say for the weekend, doug? >> erica, jim, jim, you said it perfectly. something is coming. it may not be snow, it may not be rain. it all depends on where you are. the big news is this is not a big storm. even if it's all storm, we are not expecting a lot of it. current, at about 6:00 miles an hour, that puts our windchill at 38 degrees. very chili around the region. and around the rockville area, down towards la plata. the warm spot is fredericksburg at 45. we will see numbers continue to cool. you can see that storm down to the south and west.

we're going to be watching this one very closely. rain on the south side of it, snow on the north side of it. here is the storm making its way our way. it will continue to do so as we may our way through the night tonight. i do expect some of you to stay all snow while others could be all rain. who's going to get what? that's what we're trying to nail down right now. i'll show you what i think in a minute. thank you so much, doug. people in our area are using today to stock up ahead of this winter weather. david culver of our northern virginia bureau is live in louding county. all right. so what exactly do we need to get? or what are folks getting, david? >> erica, i can tell you this would be the third snow event for folks who live right here in loudoun county, that includes this christmas eve and this past wednesday. we caught up with a few folks just getting ready ahead, we went by a harris teeter in ash burn and some folks were doing grocery shopping. the parking lot not too packed,

still dismiss shopper wanted to make sure they had enough to get through the weekend just in case. >> so what do we got here? >> enough to last me for a couple days, because i get orders from headquarters, my oldest daughter, don't go out. >> we're a bit concerned because of the snow and the ice we were supposed to go downtown. >> reporter: we'll see how her mr. and mrs. turn out tomorrow. a lot of folks heading to hardaway stores. what we found there, and our findings may surprise some of you. also at 5:00, we're at leesburg area vdot headquarters. we'll tell you what vdot is saying. for now, i'm david culver, news4. we'll see you at 5:00, david. thank you. there is a lot at stake, only three days to go before the fiscal cliff when tax heights

and spending cuts kick in. president obama and congressional leaders are meeting at the white house right now trying to figure out a way to avoid it. negotiation have been under way for about an hour. steve handelsman joins us. so far no deal? >> i'm checking. so far the meeting continues, which could be a bad sign, can it? sources here on the hill say in today's meeting president obama planned to be kind of tough, figuring that he has gotten the advantage back to the extent anybody has the advantage this close to the cliff and that he'll push hi original demand, the tack rates rise on income over a quarter million dollars. it's a positive sign, the first meeting since mid-november of the four congressional leaders, democrats and republicans at the white house. called by president obama, house speaker jane boehner, the key figure. >> the fact that he's come back and the four of them are at the

table means to me we could come up with some kind of agreement. >> reporter: both sides want a deal to avoid tax hikes that could cost middle-class families $2400. if that rate lasts all of next year. the hangup is still tax hikes on the rich. rich of the rich to tax more, those making over $250,000, the obama proposal, or $400,000, a level senate republican leader mitch mcconnell reportedly said he might be able to sell, but republicans wants the debate shifted. >> all the talk is about taxes. what the talk should be about is what we want to talk about today, and that's the medicare fiscal cliff. >> reporter: no way to cut a deal by tuesday to reform entitlements. some say that's good. >> the big problem is if we do something right now that has longlasting adverse effects on economic growth, that will cost us for a very long time. >> reporter: but for a short

time americans say fix the tax problems. >> it's a frustrating feeling to see the two sides apart. >> frankly where he shouldn't be taxed more because they can't work together. >> end the taxes for the middle class and figure out the rest of it come january, worst case. >> reporter: worst case, say many, is no deal on anything. but some tea party republicans are said to be ready to let everyone's taxes go up on tuesday, so they can quickly help figure the like on middle-class taxes and later claim they voted to cut taxes. steve handelsman, news4, capitol hill. some frightening moments in a d.c. neighborhood today after a stolen car slams into a metro bus. this was the scene around 10:00 this morning. it's at wheeler road and southern avenue near the aspirin georges county line. police tell us this stolen nissan maxima was stealing when it hit the bus head-on. it narrowly missed a woman and her baby.

we're told the suspects allegedly went on a crime spree snatching purses from people at gas stations right before this violent crash. >> i heard this big boom. i didn't think nothing of it. then i heard the sirens. >> reporter: what did you see? >> police cars, this car, the metro bus. >> the bus driver and passengers received minor injuries. the three suspects inside that car are now in custody. coming up tonight at 5:00, jackie bensen speaks with one of the purse-snatching victims. still a lot of unanswered questions in a crash on the beltway that killed three people on christmas eve. the crash shut down the outer look for several hours. maryland state police have identified the victims as jasmine fajin and anthony belt

azar. they were all passengers in a chevy malibu that lost control and collided with two pickup trucks. the driver survived, but hasn't been identified the investigators aren't ruling out anything as a cause yet and charges are still pending. two of the three suspects accused of brutally beating a man this summer in eastern market appeared in court today. tommy branch and sony kuti were in superior to formally hear the charges. the third suspect michael moore waived his hearing. the suspects are accused of beating and robbing thomas mass mazlin when he was walking home. the suspects will be back in court next week. former president george h.w. bush is said to be improving at a houston hospital this afternoon, even singing to his doctors and nurseman. a family spokesman says the 88-year-old is in good spirits.

the former president has been hospitalized now for more than a month. doctors say they're still optimistic about his recovery. policy tigds and leader remembering general norman schwarzkopf, the man who commanded forces in the first gulf war died yesterday of complications from pneumonia. andrea mitchell looks back at his career and explains how he earned his nickname. >> reporter: nicknamed stormin' norman for his legendary temper, norman schwarzkopf was an american original. colorful and blunt-talking, he used his prewar briefings to try to sca to. >> reporter: when the decision to go to war was made, he was ready with a plan to outflank the iraqi forces.

former president bush with brian williams last year. >> i remember when he came and presented his plan at camp david to us. we fine-tuned it a bit or asked that it be fine-tuned, but he was a great soldier. >> reporter: commanding 540,000 americans and allied troops, general schwarzkopf's believing made him a matinee. >> i would describe it as bovine scatterology now every time an iraqi airplane takes off the ground, it's running away. as far as nor is he schooled in the operational away. >> a west point graduate, like hess father, the younge schwarzkopf played football, wrestled, sang in the choir. in vietnam he was wouldn'ted

twice during two tours of duty. he returned a celebrated hero despite later questions about president bush's decision to end the ground war after 100 hours, leaving saddam hussein in power. he will long be remembered the commanding figure he once was. >> i would be happy if the history books said i was a soldier who served with honor and loved his troops and loved hi family. that's enough for me. inaugural balls are a washington tradition, and now a limited number of tickets are going on sale for the official 2013 event. the inaugural ball is january 21st at the walter e. washington convention center. this year there will be one large event that will take place in all of the convention center's different rooms. tickets cost $60 those interested in the public tickets have to sign up on the website.

that's 2013pick.org. the national park service is telling its side of the story now after trying to evict the popular jack's boathouse in georgetown. a spokesman says the rental business has been operating on a month-to-month lease that hasn't changed in 30 years. the current owner's name is not on that lease. last week the park service ordered the boathouse owner to leave the property in january. it put off those plans when hundreds of mime e-mailed complains. the park service says it still plans to take bids for operating the boathouse in the space. an animal rights group will have to pay the circus $9 million over claims of elephant abuse. the american society for the prevention of cruelty to animals accused the circus of mistreating elephants. the circus sued, saying the claims are false and that the animal group had hired someone to make the accusations.

a u.s. district court ruled that the paid accuser was not credibility and ordered that the aspca to pay that fine. when "news4 at 4:00" continues, a surfer's dangerous encounter with a six-foot shark that came out of the nowhere. plus a chance to dance with the one and only beyonce at the super bowl, but you have to act fast. ♪ and what do the top three songs of 2012 have in common? find out after the break.

pepsi is teaming up with beyonce to offer 100 fans a chance to dance with her at halftime during the february 3rd game in new orleans. it all starts with photos you must submit to pepsi's wreb site starting tomorrow. then they'll choose from winners from that group and those winners gets to bring a friend. submission deadline is january 11th. how about videos to know if you can dance or not? >> i think i would be too nervous. if you look back at the music of 2012, the song "call me maybe" is probably one of the

songs we couldn't get out of our heads, but several new artists also made big impressions on the music scene. >> "billboard" magazine tracks all things music. >> reporter: lots of people got to know gotye. >> lots of people told other people. before you know it, radio kind of caught up with it. ♪ call me maybe >> reporter: mills ondiscovered the number two song it helped may carly rae jepsen a phenomenon. when justin bieber tweeted about it, it immediately started climbing ♪ we are young >> the indy rock band fun scored

the number three hit. first time in billboard's history that the top three songs were each by new artists. >> at any given moment, you would probably hear one of these songs. it lasted for months and months. >> reporter: even with the trio of new artists making a splash, a quinn test of boy from britain grabbed honors as best new artist of 2012. one direction's two chart-topping albums were part of the success. >> not only were tickets being snatched up and arenas being sold out, but in the resale markets you were seeing them go for thousands of dollars. one direction took a backseat to adele. for the second time, her album toupd the 2012 chart. it gave adele back-to-back kudos as billboard's artist of the

trees. >> there are trees norm at height, and then there are redwoods. that redwood is adele. mark barger, nbc news. so what did we leave out? take a wild guess. gangnam style was released too late this year. he's been singing adele, too. gangnam style reached a milestone. earlier this month it became the first video to pass a billion views. >> that's huge. >> a billion. >> bieber couldn't do it. >> no. >> leave it to psy. well, a sigh of weather, maybe? a sigh of gonna be stuck indoors? >> i think some areas, people would love to get out in the snow, where others -- this is

really a tough forecast. and into the day tomorrow, but the good news here is, even though it's a tough forecast, the one thing we do know is this is not going to be a very big storm at all. i'm not expecting much in the way of storm, no matter where you live. under partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies, winds out of the neff at 6 miles an hour, our windchill down to 38, but a nice friday evening. i think you should be a-okay this evening. we're not seeing a lot of wind as far as what we saw yesterday. we're going to stay dry for about the next 12 hours or so, and then we'll start to see the rain and snow move in. a lot of movie down toward the south, making its way in from the gulf of mexico. snow back towards st. louis as this moves into our area. i do think most of us will start

off as snow. high pressure dominating right now. that's why we're seeing a fairly nice day, just mid to high-level clouds. tomorrow here is the area of low pressure. notice the rain/snow line just south of washington early tomorrow morning. then as the storm moving up, i think we do see a change to rain, even in the d.c. metro area before this moves out. by 5:00 this is out of here, so this is not going to be a long duration event. it's only going to affect us. what's going to affect us on sunday is another day of just cold and windy weather, windchills all day on sunday, very similar to yesterday will be in the low to mid 20s just about all day long. sunday will be a cold day, a cold night in store for the redskins game. the snow and the rain beginning fairly early down towards southern maryland. i think this will be basically an all-rain event for you. i. in the middle, right along i-95,

i think this will be snow first, and then rain, maybe up to an inch in some locations before switching over to snow. i'm talking about culpepper fredericksburg, manassas, washington over towards annapolis, maybe even gaithersburg, but gaithersburg, you're right on the line. if you're to the north and west, this should stay pretty much all snow, 1 to 2 inches from front royal, up through northern portions of loudoun county, maybe northern portions of montgomery county. to the north and west frederick county, virginia and the panhandle of west virginia, i think it will definitely be all snow for you. so once again, not a big storm, but this will add to what you saw over the last couple days up to our north and west. in the city, hoping to see our first inch of snow in that area. we'll see what happens with that, but i think most of this will be rain down to the south and east. not a big storm, but very tricky

one. very similar to what we saw the other day. it does not include d.c. fairfax county and down to the south. but potential for storm. this evening, partly cloudy, cool but nice, temperatures 34 to about 39. as we move through the day tomorrow, temperatures only around 39 degrees. sunday 39, but windy, i think okay for the redskins game, but bundle up, it will be chilly. 41 on your monday, 40 on dulles with another chance of rain or snow. and then just cold as we head into the new year, thursday and friday, temperatures only in the mid to upper 30s. guys? >> wow, 28, 23 the lows next week? >> many will be in the teens. >> not looking forward to that. we'll deal with the weekend first. coming up on news4, on thin ice -- >> just too deep and i just

couldn't get to him. >> how a man ended up needing rescuing himself. a new study that

that trip to the gym isn't about getting in shape. it may also lower your risk of cancer. >> how just 30 minutes of movement each day can help fight the disease. >> absolutely don't give up. >> reporter: frustrated after weeks of walking or lifting weights? don't let it throw you off. study after study shows you're fighting cancer even if you don't see a big drop in pounds. >> even with stable weight, the increase in exercise will improve glucose, metabolism, insulin levels will be lower, and in fact cancer risk is lower. >> reporter: how much lower? how about a 25% decrease in colon cancer, 20% to 25% for

breast cancer? also clear links between physical activity and reduce d risk for endo meetryial, lung and prostate cancer. >> you don't have to be a marathon runner or vegetarian. ideally 30 minutes a day, actually if we get to more than that, 10,000 steps a day, we'll see a substantial reduction in both diabetes and cancer. when we come right back on "news4 at 4:00" two weeks since the tragedy at sandy hook, and the donations are still pouring in, but there is one problem. and shark attack. the very close

we just receive word that john boehner has left the white house, but there's no word if any budget agreement has been reached to avoid first of the year tax hikes, s president obama and top congressional leaders met at the white house this afternoon to work on that deal. there is outrage today over a new bill signed into law by

russian president vladimir putin. it bans americans from adopting russian children. the law is considered retaliation for new u.s. legislation that put sanctions on russian human rights violators. right now police have three people in custody after allegedly stealing a car, then crashing into a mel rho bus sgro loe 'get another check of the storm, and the weekend, bring out extra blank either. >> maybe an extra blank et or two that will be about it. i do think some of us maybe using our snow shovels a bit to

the north and west, but most of the area we won't see a big storm. this is not a big one. this includes washington, but all of southern maryland, you are south and east of i-95, mostly a rain event, not worried about snow accumulation for you. getting its act together now, but most areas will start as snow. i'll show you when in just a minute. doug, thank you. a blustery morning in newtown, connecticut today, where people gathered to mark the two-week anniversary of the tragedy at sandy hook. clergy from several faiths

gathered to offer their words of support and pray for healing. they were joined by a few oth s others. from around the country, donations are still pouring into newtown as americans try to offer comfort, but as alana gold reports, so much has been pouring in, that space is running out. there's no end in sight. >> every time we turn around, another truckload of stuff has pulled up. >> reporter: boxes filled with donations from across the country are taking over this warehouse. >> louisiana, texas, florida, i think we've seen just about every state. >> reporter: people started sending them right after the shootings at sandy hook, an the stacks are getting higher by the

hour. because there are so many donations here, the town hasn't even started to figure out how they'll be divided up or where they'll even good to. >> look to give it to the kids first, take what they want, but we don't know. we're just busy taking it all in. >> reporter: there's no slowing down. >> all the love and support, we really appreciate it. >> reporter: these newtown volunteers will work as long as their help is feeded. >> it's just an amazing outpouring. >> reporter: because for some being here is a way to heal. >> it's very cathartic, i can finally do something for somebody. >> reporter: knolls the special deliver yes, sir could give comfort to others. meanwhile, a woman accused of scamming money has been released. nouel alba is charged with trying to swindal online donors. she supposed as a relative of a

victim, and set up a fund on her facebook. the site was complete with a bank account and routing number. she was first exposed on a rossen report segment. some police officers are recovering after a shooting inside a new jersey police stay. the man arrested on domestic violence charges, started a struggle inside the gloucester township police station. the gunman grabbed a gun. one had to be rushed into surgery, the other two suffered minor injuries. police shot and killed the suspect. the military today is looking into what caused one of its most advanced fighter jets to crash during a training mission outside fresno. an f-16 fighter jet like the one seen here went down yet, flying about 12,000 feet when it experienced some sort of inflight emergency. the pilot was able to eject from

the plane and reach the ground safely. the jet was part of the california national guard. a beach in australia has been shut down after a surfer lost part of his hand. it hat this morning, a large bull shark bit the 29-year-old man on his leg and right hand. he lost two fingers. he was carted off to the hospital. despite the ordeal, he's said to be in stable condition. witnesses said he used a surfboard to fight off the shark. >> he was just out, the dolphins were swimming around him, and then all of a sudden the shark just came up and took about three chunks at him. he just got his board and put the note of the board into the bull shark's head. >> and friends came to the rescue. they used the ropes from the surfboards as tourniquets. two fingers could have been a

lot worse. the major winter storm dumping lots of snow, not on us. wee talking about canada. then up next, the wrild and wakiest videos from around the world that

have a good night. here you go. you, too.

i'm going to dream about that steak. i'm going to dream about that tiramisu. what a night, huh? but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership? [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today. it's been a busy year here.

>> it just keeps coming and coming. we're going out with a bang, too. there are some stories that don't get much publicity. here's a look at the wild and wacky side of 2012, stories you might not have seen. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> i'm going for a walk down the road. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ all right. it's going to be tough to top all that in 2013. >> you wonder why we don't show you everything sometimes. that's kind of why. coming up next, what you can do with your unwanted holiday gifts. before you exchange them, a way you can help others and yourself at the same time. and then the weather, all things weather, doug, what's the latest? >> we're breaking it down hour by hour. who will see the rain?

a record-breaking snowstorm pummeled other neighbors to the north today. s the weather made for a dangerous commute for drivers and delayed and canceled dozens of flights. but somebody is having fun there. you know, we are so out of practice when it comes to getting out on the sled or behind the wheel, for that matter. >> that's what i said to see. in my backyard, yes. got the sled all really to go. >> no chance of that tomorrow?

>> you know, for some of us we'll be able to do it. if you saw the snow the other day, you're going to see snow again. that same storm by the way in canada was the same storm that went through us. yes, you would love the to pull out the sled, i just don't think that's going to happen. more than likely you'll be dealing with the umbrella. right now temperatures sitting at 42 degrees. the windchill down to about 38, so it's a bit chilly, nothing like that 20, 30, even 40 miles an hour we saw yesterday. i just want you to look at this. i-95 runs right through baltimore. if you're north and west, rockville, gaithersburg, over towards manassas, you have a better chance of see snow snow

tomorrow. if you're down towards quantico and around camp spring, huntingtown, annapolis better chance of snow to rain. not to show you, but that storm system is moving in. we do have some moisture. it will move into colder air. future weather taking us through the night. enjoy your friday evening. this is what's going to happen around 4:00 a.m. now here's the i-95 corridor. north and west, we're talking snow some areas picking up around 7:00 on wednesday. 11:00, once again, i-95, baltimore, washington, south and east, this is all rain. north and west we are talking about snow. once again accumulating snow. that's why we have the winter weather advisories in effect, but i think we'll see some of these warmer we are make its way

in, could be mixing with rain, we don't want to see that, it makes things slushy. some of you could have picked up 1 to 2, maybe 3 inches farther to the west. 39 degrees on your sunday, very windy for the redskins game. monday and tuesday, another chance of showers, maybe snow or rain on tuesday, temperatures around 40 degrees. then just plain cold as we head into the first part of the new year. >> thank you, doug. chances are you received at least one gift this holiday season that you can't use. >> you know, but there is something else you can do besides taking it back to the store. danielle grossman takes a look at the benefits of charity regifting. >> reporter: what if you knew you wanted to give back this season but couldn't financially? did you give gift cards that you're sure you'll never use? >> you name it, whatever it may be, instead of regifting it, gift it to the charity of your

choice. >> you can donate your unwanted not so perfect gift cart balances from any amount from any store to charity. >> we want to make sure that people know that that's an avenue out there. >> reporter: if you have receipts for the cards or returns, don't throw them away just yet. with that donation you're gaining something yourself. >> reporter: it's all tax deductible. >> reporter: you might be thinking what would an organization do with a gift card to a pet store in they go to numerous web sites online and resell the gift card and get cash. go to charity navigator.com, a website that allows you to see where your funds are going within each organization. gift cardsen the only things to donate. >> somebody might get a book they already have, they may get a -- that christmas sweater that looks great, but just ain't quite the right style. somebody here at one of our

shelter facilities could use it to stay warm on a cold winter day. >> reporter: with the growing need for community support at charitable organizations across the country, this is just a way to give a little more. indeed. coming up on news4, what police did to end a chase through a residential neighborhood. why ford is facing a class-action lawsuit tonight over some of is hybrid cars. i'm jackie bensen in southeast washington. this car fleeing from police

california police continued their search today for a man who jumped out of a stolen car during a high-speed chase the it happened in norwalk. this shows a police cruiser ramming the car right before it stops. two women were taken into custody at the scene. the man is still on the run after police searched the local neighborhood. ford is facing a class-action lawsuit over some of is new hybrid cars. the lawsuit says the automaker fudged the capabilities for the 2013 c-max hybrid and fusion hybrid models. ford says both get 47 miles to the gallon, but a recent "consumer report" study said it's actually ten miles fewer. recently kia and hyundai had to

also revise their numbers. the prague zoo is attracting thousands of visitors. a baby gorilla was born there last sunday, the fourth born to the 19-year-old mother. zoo keepers are keeping their distance, so the sex is still unknown. for now, the mom and child are spending their time bonding and sleeping. a name will be chosen for the new addition in the spring. best to find out if it's a boy and girl before you pick that name. >> yeah, i agree. i concur. still ahead on news4, trouble on the ice.

a bad turn of events for a man trying to rescue hi dog. he ended up needing rescuing himself, but this dog's tale has a happy ending. >> reporter: he's an 11-year-old walker hound name bart. if dogs could talk, he would have quite the story. >> i kept my eyes off him for just a second. >> reporter: just hours ago he was fighting to survive. he wandered away and fell through the ice. his two front paws kept him from sinking in. >> i tried to walk around and it was just too deep. i just couldn't get to him. >> reporter: waist deep, jim swaysie called 911 and then

called his cousin lance. >> i just want thinking. i wanted to try to rescue a friend of at the family. >> reporter: lance vend further out. i fell in. >> reporter: he finally reached bart, who spent an hour and a half in the frigid water. lance held him close before they were rescued. >> i was talking to him, trying to keep him warm. >> reporter: this dog's tale comes with a happy ending. >> hi, buddy. >> i went what if it was my situation, i would hope somebody would try to do something. right now at 5:00, lining up for guns. it wasn't just protesters who showed up for a gun show in virginia. just over a half hour ago, the fiscal cliff talks ended at the white house with just three days until we could all go over the edge. and a wild ride. a crime spree comes to a

dramatic end. >> he only wanted to see me just enough to hurry up and do what he wanted to do, which was take my pocketbook and for him to flee. more on that? just a bit, but we begin with more messy winter weather. >> it's been a wild week where the weather is concerned. we've seen snow, sleet and rain, then strong winds blew in. >> now we're bracing for more snow, rain and cold numbers. doug kammerer is here where what we can expect. how about it, doug? >> we've been talking about that change in the weather pattern going from very warm and calm to a lot colder and stormier. that's exactly what we've seen happen really over the past week. i think that trend will continue as another storm moves in. rock winds out of